New Year, new you: 10 clubs in Bengaluru you can join in 2023

From books to board games, we offer you a variety of activities you can get into at the beginning of the year

Involvement in most book clubs requires reading suggested titles or genres or participating in literary activities. However, that is not the case with the Silent Book Club. The entire purpose of this club is to inculcate a love for reading and so, as its name suggests, members get together to sit and read whatever they have brought along.

“Most sessions last about 45 minutes after which there’s a 15-minute period for anyone to share what they’ve read if they wish to,” says Anand Chaturvedi, founder of Avasar Foundation which runs the Silent Book Club. ”We disperse after that. There is no pressure to complete a book. It’s an opportunity to come together and motivate each other to read. It also helps those who are inherently shy by creating a safe environment to read and speak in public at their own pace. ”

Begun in November 2019, the Silent Club did not allow the ensuing lockdown to get in the way of their reading time together. They simply logged into a Zoom call and read from the confines of their homes.

There is no membership fee to join the Silent Book Club whose members usually meet once a week or online, every Saturday. Readers in the Whitefield area can drop in to the Avasar Foundation, Seegehalli in Kadugodi. To join, log in to forms.gle/okcFTUDn1noHZZnv7

Did you know a professional Scrabble board could cost close to ₹8000? Or that the tiles alone could set you back a couple of thousands? Well, there is far more to game than just triple letter scores. The Scrabble Association of India comprises about 300 players across the country with the largest club in Karnataka.

What used to be the Bangalore Scrabble Club, is now the Karnataka State Scrabble Association (KSSA) which conducts informal tournaments, quizzes and other activities, both online and offline on a regular basis. “A couple of times a year, we also conduct formal coaching sessions for those interested in learning how to play Scrabble,” says Suchindra Potnis, committee member, KSSA.

The KSSA is affiliated with the Scrabble Association of India (SAI) and the World English Scrabble Players Association (WESPA). Club members include people of all ages and from all walks of life — professionals, homemakers, students, scientists, retirees — who renew their subscription of ₹1000 annually.